Masso Antico Primitivo

Ruby red, with ripe fruit shading into spice and a full-bodied palate whose smooth tannins finish on vanilla; this is luxuriously plush, though priced as if it's velour. Made in the leggermente appassito style — the grapes are left to wither partially on the vine, concentrating color, aroma, and flavor before they're ever picked. The vines are trained alberello, the ancient Mediterranean bush-vine method developed for heat and drought and now rare, and the withering is helped along by the sea wind; maturation runs about six months in French oak.

Food pairing: Braised short ribs, lamb ragù, aged pecorino, barbecue, or anything cooked long and slow.